Aerating device



Aug. 1, 1933. H, L STALEY 1,920,220

AERATING DEVICE Filed Feb. 15, 1931 1 NVEN TOR Patented Aug. 1-, 1933 7 1,920,220 7 (unit-sh stares ra'rsur were:

AERATING DEVICE Harrison L. Staley, Martinsville, Ind. Application February 13, 1931. Serial No. 515,552

e Claims. (Cl. 119 5.),

This invention relates to a type of aerator seldom survice longer than ninety days and the adapted particularly to aerating the various trade estimates thirty days as their average life types of live fish containers which are commonly in a small home aquarium. known to the trade as display aquariums for The display aquariums which dealers use to exdealers, home aquariums and shipping cans for, hibit their fish are aerated at the present time 60 producers, where it is often impractical to have by two methods. Gne method, by having a conoutside connections with a current of air under tinuous flow of fresh water into it, the surplus pressure or flowing water. water being carried off by an overflow vent; the

Heretofore, efforts have been made to aerate other, by having an electrically operated air,

10 shipping cans for live fish by providing a manupump discharging air under pressure into the ally operated air pump secured to the side of the. water. Either method entails great expense of can to force air bubbles through the water thereinstallation and operation. in. But such a device has been found of quese In my experimentation, I have found that if tionable utility, for the reason, that pressure prothe water is properly aerated 'in the several 15 "duces rapid movement of air bubbles through the epochs of a pet fishs existence food in greater water and thata continuous flow of air is necesquantities can be given it and its life indefinitely sary to keep the water regularly and evenly prolon ed, thus preventing a loss of millions of charged with dissolved air. And further, the elepet fish annually in the United States. ment of labor which is required for the operation Basing my research upon the established fact 20 of such a device makes/the operation uncertain in physical chemistry, that fifty parts of disand the expense prohibitive. tilled water at 60 to '70 degrees Fahiz, dissolves But the necessity of proper aeration of shiponly one part air, I discovered, that if an isoping cans has been clearly established if great lated air chamber having a permeable wall of losses of live fish are to be avoided. A'practical desired porosity was placed .below the surface 5 shipping can holds only a few gallons of water of water vessel containing live fish, sufficient 30 and because of the shipping expense hundreds of air was gradually released by the process of live fish are placed therein. Dissolved air in the osmosis to keep the water evenly charged with water is soon reduced to extreme rarefication dissolved air. r and not infrequently the entire shipment'of fish It is therefore the object of my invention to 1s suffocated. Especially is this true if the temprovide a simple, inexpensive and automatic perature of water in the shipping can is raised aerating device which effectively aerates water morethan a few degrees in transit or the fish in a live fish containerwithout recourse to a have not been properly conditioned bygradumechanical compressor for its air supply. ally reducing their air and food rations prior to With these and other desirable objects in View, 'Tshipment. In any event, the fish that survive attention is directed to the accompanying drawsuch shipment are stunted and when placed in ing which forms a part of this specification. dealers display aquariums seldom if ever, recover Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my inventheir native vigor. tion for home aquariums; Figure 2 discloses a The small home aquarium for which no method smallhome aquarium with walls partly removed of aeration hasheretofore been found practical, showing my invention in longitudinal section, in contributes further, suffocation to the fish to operative position; Figure 3 is a longitudinal which must be added a degree of starvation. It section of the simplest 'form of my invention; has been determined, that if a pet fish is placed Figure 4 isa fragmentary section of the body of in a small aquarium from which air is slowly my invention showing a modified method of atextracted from the water either by itself or by taching the permeablemember to the neckof the mechanical means, a physical condition soon body; Figure 5 is also a fragmentary section of arises which causes death if more than mere life the, body showing the method of attaching a sustaining. quantities of food are given it The permeable member in the wall of the body. 7 fact is also well known to the trade that frequent .Reierring to thepreferred form of my invenchanges of water in the home aquarium when the tion for home aquariums, (Figs. 1 and 2) the fish is underfed produce death. Therefore, the numeral 1 designates the body of the aerating, pet fish trade universally advises minute and indevice which I have-found practical to make of frequent feedings and particularly infrequent various materials, such as earthenware, metal, changes of water. But even with the most skillglass, etc. Body 1 is provided with an isolated ful balancing of the air and food ration, pet fish air chamber 2 for holding a quantity of air under the surface of the water 12 in container 13. Said body 1 is further provided with a projecting neck 3 which defines circular opening 4, said neck having an annular groove 5 thereon to afford facilities for housing the binding element 6 which removably secures permeable material 7 over said opening 4.

It'i's obvious that osmosis takes place through permeable material 7 and that, as air is dissolved by water 12 in container 1 3,"water re places the air in chamber 2 and that when the air is exhausted from chamber 2, the accumulated water therein has onlyto be removed to re-establish the device as an active aerator.

For draining the water from chamber 2 after osmosis has occurred, a hole 14 is provided, preferably at the bottom of the aerating device.

Said hole 14 should be made closable to prevent large air bubbles from escaping therethrough should the device be tilted out of a vertical position while being introduced into the water.

suitable meansmay be employed to close hole ,tainer.

let, such as a tapered stopper 15.

In the care of pet fish it has been found inadvisable to place the hand in the water of containers 13 because of the oils and acids thereon, such foreign matter being injurious to fish life, and as it is necessary to remove from time to time the aerator, from the container 13 to drain porous materials are suitable, but I prefer to use a closely woven pliable fabric because it'yields -itself readily to cleansing, and cleansing of everything in a fish container is necessary .from'time to time as a health factor. When a rigid ma terial is used forpermeable element 7, the ,mi-

nute pores therein, which are in fixed relation to each other, soon become filled with silt and other waste material peculiar to pet fish containers and such material is very diflicult to remove. The disadvantage of using a rigid porous material is observed when the entire aerator is made of suchmaterial whichis illustrated in Figure 3.

When a closely woven pliable fabric is used for permeable element 7, the rate of osmosis can be changed by the simple expedient of increasing or decreasing the layers of said fabric.

If; under certain conditions, a rigid'porous material is required for-permeable element 7, means for securing such rigid material to the aerator is suggested in Figure 5. lnsteadlof using the annular groove 5 to house a pliable binding element 6, said groove can be utilized for locking a plastic sealingmaterial in theform of an insoluble waxor cement around and above a tapered outer edgeof a rigid porous element 7.

For holding such a rigid element 7 in position while sealing material is being-applied, an inwardly jutting shoulder 16 is provided.

Regardless of what kind of porousmaterial is used for permeable element 7, it' is well understood that it must. be of such texture that a water film will be formed. across the interstices so that free air cannot escape in visible bubbles 'therethrough for such action wouldsoon exhaust the air supply in chamber2. I have found that the finer and more numerousthe pores in said permeable element, the more rapid the rate of Any restores the device as an active aerator.

osmosis. Permeable element 7 becomes in fact, a medium in which both an and water are broken up in the most minute particles, the air to be dissolved by osmosis and diffused through the body of water 12, while small quantities of water by the action of gravitation are permitted to replace the air extracted from air chamber 2.

I find it necessary when apliable woven fabric is used for permeable element 17 for its outer edge to be bound securely in annular groove 5 to prevent free air from escaping between the bottom,

of said groove and binding element 6. For binding element 6, a soitmetal wire which allows the endsto be twisted, an overlapping metalspring clasp or twine cord canbe utilized.

It has been determined that as air from chamber 2 is dissolved by water 12, its rapidity of dii fusion is observably slow. I have found how-- ever, that the movement of fish in container 13. agitates the water sufficientlyto distribute rapidly the dissolved air through the entire body.

When a fibrous material is used for permeable element 7 and openly exposed to fish, I find the frequently nibble-at it to such an extent that it is permanently injured. To prevent such damage; a perforated guard 19 is provided, said guard being formed out of a screen wire or any other suitable material. It is necessary that guard 19 sho'uldcompletely cover permeable element 7 in such a manner that it will not interfere with the diffusion of dissolved air. It is apparent that guard 19 can be removably attached by any practical means to body 1.

Informs for home aquariums, my invention can be embodied in various sizes and decorative shapes such as. castles, turtles, frogs, submarines,

etc., Without interferingwith thescope of my invention.

In operation, the aerating device is drained of all water, the hole 14 closed, and it is then placed in the aquarium below the surface of water 12. Should said water be not completely saturated with dissolved air, osmosis immediately sets in and continues as long as dissolved air is extractedby petlife or until the free air in chamber 2 is exhausted. After air is exhausted from cham her 2, water is drainedtherefrom which again It is readily observed that the aerator, should have greater weight than the water-it displaces so that it will beheld by gravity on the bottom of the aquarium. i

In my experimentation, I have found that if the temperature of water 12 in container 13 is greatly increased, dissolved air therein is driven rapidly from thewater, and that such a rise of temperature with its attending rarefication'of dissolved air, often produces death to pet fish. My invention, however, provides for this contingency; osmosis increases inproportion to the rise in temperature. I

Having fully described the principle of my invention, I claim as new:

1. An aerating device for live fish containers, comprising a body having an isolated-air chamber therein, an opening in the wall of said body, a projecting neck defining said opening, said projecting neck being provided with an annular groove thereon, a permeable element adapted to cover said opening, means to lockingly secure the outer edgeofsaid permeable element in the annular groove of said projecting neck, and a sec- 0nd closable hole in said body to drain the water from said air chamber after osmosis has occurred through said permeable element between the air in said chamber and water in'said container.

2. An aerating device for live fish containers, comprising a body having an isolated airchamber therein, an opening in the wall of said body, a projecting neck defining said opening, said projecting neck being provided with an annular groove thereon, a permeableelement adapted to cover said opening and permit osmosis between the air in said chamber and water in said container, means to lockingly secure the outer edge of said permeable element in the annular groove of said projecting neck, said means consisting of a pliable binding element, and a hole to drain the water from said air chamber after osmosis a pliable permeable element secured over saidopening to permit osmosis between the air in.

said chamber and the Water in said container, substantially as described. g

6. An aerating device for live, fish containers, comprising a body having an isolated air chamber therein, an opening in the wall of said body,

a pliable permeable element removably secured over said opening, said pliable permeable element permitting osmosis between the air in said charm ber and the water in said container, and a removable plug located in the wall of said body,

substantially as described.

HARRISON L. STALEY. 

